6 Gardening Jobs for February

There’s always something to be done in the garden, and with spring round the corner, February is a great month to brush the snow of your gardening tools and get back to it.

Deal With Debris

After a cold summer and not much attention, your garden is quite likely to be full of leaves, twigs, and other bits and bobs. February is a great time to start tidying things up ready for the warmer months.

Gather any waste materials from your flowerbeds and rake up any fallen leaves from the ground. Put all the debris on the compost heap, but watch for any dying or dead plants, as you don’t want to spread disease.

Get Rid of Weeds

The weeds in your garden have probably enjoyed growing over winter, and they may not have been that easy to see until you have cleaned up the debris covering your garden.

Dig out any weeds and cut back any plants that have been affected. If any of your plants become displaced during this process, just re-plant them, as they should find their feet again before spring rolls around.

Organise Seeds

If you haven’t yet got round to it, take some time out to organise all the different seeds that you are planning on planting in the next year. You don’t want to find in 6 months that you forgot to plant something you had bought especially.

Create a calendar or diary that displays exactly what needs planting and when, so you don’t miss out and your plants have time to grow. You could even create your own and make little pockets for the individual seeds.

Get Planting

Some perennials can take three or four weeks to germinate, by which time it will be the start of March. Plants such as begonia and osteospermum can be placed on a windowsill or inside a greenhouse to give them a good start in life.

Now is a good time to start planting roses too, but if you already have existing roses, then don’t start pruning them until next month, as frost can actually burn any new cuts made in them.

Deadhead

February is the perfect time to start pruning vines and climbers. Cut any wisteria, buddleia and clematis down until there are only a few buds visible. Prune to about knee height and make sure those that need support have a stable trellis.

Other flowers such as Hydrangea can be deadheaded and cut down so the stronger shoots have a chance to flower in the coming months. It’s good to cut back any large plants of climbers to give the strong shoots a chance to grow.

Spring Clean

If you have a greenhouse, now is the time to give it a good clean, before the growing season begins. Use warm soapy water to wash both the inside and outside of the glass walls.

If you don’t have one already, it may be worth investing in an electric propagator to help any early sowings along. Don’t be tempted to plant too many seeds in February though, as you don’t want them to become lanky due to the lower lighting.